


a marked increase in warlock consultations

by lynne_monstr



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Flufftober, M/M, Marriage Proposal, POV Outsider, and getting it back, casual accounting, mentions of magnus losing his magic, underhill audits the books, warlock consultations
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-16
Updated: 2018-10-16
Packaged: 2019-08-02 20:24:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,382
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16312109
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lynne_monstr/pseuds/lynne_monstr
Summary: As Head of Security, it's also Underhill's job to audit the books.It was the latest figure added to a growing list of warlock consultations. In fact, looking at the numbers, the Institute’s yearly average had increased over 500% in the past year alone.He frowned at that. Surely there must be some mistake. It wasn’t time for his yearly audit of the books, but this merited a further look. A quick search of the file system yielded scanned copies of every invoice in the past six months. It was no surprise that the most expensive ones were courtesy of Magnus Bane, former High Warlock turned current High Warlock.Written for Flufftober Day 15: Books





	a marked increase in warlock consultations

Underhill ran a hand through his unruly hair as he stepped into his office at the end of a grueling day. The breach alarm had gone off no less than four times, and though the root cause was traced back to a damaged ward, there were still security protocols that needed to be followed. And follow them, he did. All four times.

Detouring to the half empty bottle at the bottom of his filing cabinet, he poured himself two fingers of whiskey and got to work.

Today’s ward replacement was going to run them $80,000.

It was the latest figure added to a growing list of warlock consultations. In fact, looking at the numbers, the Institute’s yearly average had increased over 500% in the past year alone.

He frowned at that. Surely there must be some mistake. It wasn’t time for his yearly audit of the books, but this merited a further look. A quick search of the file system yielded scanned copies of every invoice in the past six months. It was no surprise that the most expensive ones were courtesy of Magnus Bane, former High Warlock turned current High Warlock.

Underhill opened several of them at random. Some were straightforward bills. However, others had what looked to be handwritten notes alongside the printed fee breakdown. The first one read:

> Ley Line Diversion – $150,000 (-$50,000 Credit) = $100,000 (base fee + hazard bonus + exhaustion bonus) _*credit issued as a thank you to Alec Lightwood for standing up for the warlocks of nyc xoxo_

Underhill smiled as he took a sip of his drink. He had been the one to escort Raj and his cronies from the premises. It had been his pleasure; the stunt they pulled to lock down the Institute had put the entire city at risk.

And okay, that was a perfectly legitimate item. Truth be told, it had been a hectic six months. It wasn’t unlikely that the increase in warlock expenses was merely a function of increased activity. But it was part of his duties to make sure.

The next few bills were fairly straightforward, even if the second was slightly odd.

> Confirmation of Demonic Possession - $10,000 (1hr min. consultation fee applies)

followed by

> Consultation –provide information to NYI on Lilith Queen of Demons—$20,000 (2 hrs @standard rate; _For what it’s worth, if it was us at Lake Lyn, I would have done the same for you too xx)_

and then

> Six coffees – $40.56 (receipts attached)

The reference to Lake Lyn was strange. That was the place Clary Fray defeated Valentine.

What was it that Magnus would have done the same, he wondered. Perhaps the note was referring to wanting to be the one to kill Valentine, but Underhill didn’t think so. This was something Magnus Bane would do personally for Alec, he was sure of it.

He contemplated the possibilities as he brought his glass of whiskey to his lips again. No answers came, except that whatever it was, it was important. Possibly life or death.

A wave of melancholy passed over him. A love like Alec had found was a rare thing. Underhill might have been slightly, fiercely jealous. He had noticed the intimate looks they exchanged in the Institute, the way they gravitated towards each other when in the same room, the way they hugged like they could overcome all of life’s cruelties if only they were pressed close together enough.

It was no secret that Alec looked at Magnus Bane with his heart in his eyes. And Magnus Bane loved him back with a strength as powerful as the magic he wielded. Underhill could only hope to be so lucky to find someone who would look at him like that, like he held their entire world.

Squeezing his eyes shut, he tossed back the last of his drink, feeling the bitter burn in a hot line down his throat.

He poured himself another. Smaller this time. He didn’t know what happened at Lake Lyn, but he decided that unless something specifically came up around it, he wouldn’t go searching for it.

With that, he opened the next one.

The original invoice amount was crossed out so heavily it was no longer legible, but the length of the figure implied an obscene number of zeros.

> Round Trip, Edom $0 ( _If I charged the full value of what this trip cost me, this Institute would be in debt for centuries. In lieu of monetary recompense, Alexander Lightwood’s pretty face owes me homemade French toast every morning for the rest of my life, however long or short it may be_ )

Everyone had heard about Magnus Bane losing his magic, of course. It had spread like a flashfire, reactions ranging from shock that it was even possible to smug satisfaction at the fall of such an infamous figure. Those that had nothing good to say learned quickly that voicing their opinion in range of the Head of the Institute was a dire mistake. Alec prowled around like a ghost during those initial weeks, heavy bags under his eyes and itching for a fight that wasn’t there.

Publicly, Magnus Bane appeared to deal with it in the same blasé way he dealt with everything. He dived into the management of his nightclub, making public appearances flocked by a sea of hired warlock bodyguards. Between the heavy magical security and his Shadowhunter boyfriend, anyone who thought they had a free shot at the former High Warlock turned mundane was quickly and violently shown the error of their ways.

This invoice was an unexpected personal glimpse into that time. He imagined their morning breakfasts were a stark contrast to the personas they both displayed in public.

A sense of guilt crept over him for reading what seemed more and more like private correspondences between his superior and his boyfriend. He reminded himself that these were public invoices and he had every right to review them. Magnus Bane had been around long enough to know that nothing submitted to official Institute keeping stayed private.

Besides, there was only one left.

> Reconstruction of North Wing - $290,000 ( _You haven’t been answering my texts. Did you drop your phone in demon ichor again? Meet me outside the Institute, in front of the main doors. I have a question for you._ )

It had almost become a game at this point, figuring out what the little messages meant.

He remembered that day like it was stamped into his brain. The Institute almost fell under the weight of Jonathan Morgenstern’s vicious attack. It was the worst physical destruction the building itself had seen in living memory, and it would have been much worse had the warlocks not shown up in the eleventh hour, led by the newly reinstated Magnus Bane.

The invoice was dated three days later. And that’s when it clicked.

Alec had been at the Institute that day, and the pure happiness he radiated could have powered the entire building. For days afterwards, the biggest gossip topic was whether anyone knew that their leader was even capable of smiling that much. He had so much spring in his step he practically bounced.

Underhill had chalked it up to a little too much caffeine, until Alec had set the record straight. Or not so straight, Underhill thought, smiling to himself at the lame joke.

It was the day Alec announced his engagement.

Underhill didn’t know what significance that spot outside the Institute doors held for Alec. Whether it was a first kiss or an important make-up, or simply the spot they had laid eyes on each other and realized they were in love.

If he dug for it, he could probably find out. All that security know-how made him pretty handy with a keyboard. But it was one thing to review a few invoices, and a whole other to go deliberately searching for personal information. He respected Alec too much, as a boss and (he hoped) as a friend, to ever do that.

He swirled the remains of amber liquid around in his glass a few times before finishing the drink and calling it a day.

All was well within the halls of the Institute and as long as Underhill was around, he planned on keeping it that way.

**Author's Note:**

> Again, I'm not sure how much I actually succeeded at the fluff part of flufftober, but here we are!
> 
> Feel free to come find me on tumblr!  
> lynne-monstr.tumblr.com


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